M14.4

a.) As we begin to think about being active and prepared, explore this website (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and the links that are specific to your region or area of interest to learn more about health (physical and psychosocial) and environmental impacts or preparedness needs for these disaster precipitators.

My interest is earthquakes.  Although I don't live in San Francisco, the earthquakes can affect anywhere around SF, which I am concerned whenever I hear the possibilities of having the earthquakes from the news.  There are various resource for the earthquakes in the website; health impacts; psychosocial impact; health recovery.  Regarding to psychosocial information, parents can learn the impact of the earthquake in children and how they can support their children after the earthquake.  The NCDMPH provides disaster preparedness in children with detail information.  They had "Pediatric Disaster Preparedness Curriculum Development  Conference" in March 2011.  They focused the concerns for children who experience the disaster.  This enable for parents to prepare physically and psychologically for their children for the disaster.  

b.) In California we have the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers Site (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., where healthcare professionals and those with healthcare experience can express a desire to be a volunteer should a disaster happen. Is there something similar where you live?

In Santa Clara county, I found "Medical Volunteers for Disaster Response(MVDR)".  The people in this group are registered nurses and physicians as well as social workers and mental health professionals.  The main three areas that are managed by this team are medical/health emergencies, disasters that cause injury to large number of people, and community outreach.  I looked over the package for MVDR. According to the package, their mission is "to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers to support medical response locally and throughout the State."  The members in the team have professional licensure or certification.  They need to complete some training.  In order to be a member of MVDR, person must be citizen of U.S, able to stand for long periods of time and able to lift up to 25 pounds.  It was interesting to know that there are 4 different levels of membership depending on age, interests, professional training, life experiences, level of obligations to other volunteer or paid positions, etc.  The highest level is 4 called "leader".  They need to attend a 6 training and 2 exercises per year at minimum.     

I also found one called "Community Emergency Response Team".  They are not medical professionals like MVDR, but they get trained some basic disaster response skills.  After training the skills, they are able to help people in community when professional responders are not immediately available to help.  

https://www.sccgov.org/sites/ems/Pages/mvdr.aspx

http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/services/public_safety/get_involved/cert.asp

M10.1 Occupational health

1) Consider your workplace or a workplace of one of your family members. Are there chemical, biological, radiological or ergonomic issues? Using the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls, how might you address the issues? How are they being addressed in reality?

My boyfriend works in the hospital. Therefore, there is a biological issues.  He could be exposed to all the virus or infectious disease in the hospital just like any other employees who work in the hospital. In particular, he is a surgeon, which also can cause ergonomic issues, from standing long hours.  By using the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls, the firs thing he can do is eliminate the hazard.  However, that is not possible because that is what his job to take care patient who has possible infectious disease. Also, he cannot substitute, which is next level of hierarchy.  The third level of hierarchy is engineering controls.  With this level, he can do some since there are isolation rooms in the hospital for patients who have active infectious disease.  However, this cannot always protect him.  This is because he has to treat these patients no matter what.  Fortunately, he can control with last 2 levels in the hierarchy of controls.  There are specific policy in the hospital how the surgeon treat the patients who have active infectious disease.  Also, he puts personal protective equipment whenever he needs to.  In reality, these are addressed in most time.  However, I have seen some employees including doctors in the hospital did not have the right personal protective equipment when they took care particular patients who required.        

2) What might be the barriers to workers exercising their rights to a healthy and safe workplace?

The barriers I can think of is money for personal protective equipment.  As I mentioned just above, I have seen people who did not wear the personal protective equipment.  The reason for that was not only because the employees chose not to wear, but also there were not enough personal protective equipment.  There should be enough personal protective equipment in the hospitals, so no employees do not loose chance to protect himself or herself.    

Climate Change

1) What do you personally find most troubling about climate change?

After watching all the videos and looking the website, I found people's acknowledgment of seriousness of climate change is most troubling.  I guess many people already know that our climate has been changed for many years.  However, I don't think they are really understand and know how serious it is now.  We feel like there are some time to solve this problems, but this is not true anymore.  I want everyone to feel that we need to do something against climate change. As people in the video mentioned several times, this is time to act to do something for climate change.  We are actually late according to the video, but still can make it better if we start to do something.  Small changes can make big changes eventually, but it has to be everyone who do act.  This can start from our home by saving the energy, using healthy products or foods.    

2) As a public health professional, what do you think needs the greatest attention right now?

As a public health professional, I think we need the greatest attention is loss of sea ice in the Arctic due to global warming.  I remember the documentary video about melting of the sea ice in Arctic.  It was tragic and made me depressed.  I saw lot of animals dying from warmer temperature and loosing the ice.  That was already happened from long time ago, but we still don't see any improvement.  We need to understand that the animals in the Arctic are dying because human are using the environment in wrong way.  As soon as possible, we need to fix to protect our animals.  One idea I suggest that we can promote the "zero energy home" like zero waste on the last lecture.  When we build the house, we can make better ventilation  system in order to keep the heat in the house without using too much heater.  Also, we can use solar energy instead of gas or oil.      

3) If you were visiting with a long-lost relative who had never heard about climate change, how would you describe it and its attendant human health and ecological threats?

The climate has been changed for many years.  It impacts on environment negatively.  Due to increased of temperature, which is called global warming, the water has been rising and the severity of storms and other nature disaster has been rising as well.  Also, the climate changes causes the air-borne and water-born disease.  For example, the Lyme disease happens more with longer summer season.  Another example, we get sick from eating sea foods that has toxin due to climate changes.  In many ways, the climate changes has been threaten us as I mentioned. In particular, children and older people are more vulnerable.  The rate of Asthma or other lung/heart disease are associated to the climate changes.  Because of warm temperature, the disease such as West Nile Virus or Dengue are happened more often. There are many ways we can resolve this issue.  We should finish the foods we have in order to decrease the waste.  Also, we can use public transportation whenever it is possible instead of driving our own car, which contributes to the air pollution.  At home, we can reduce the temperature of heat by wearing more cloths or putting the rugs to keep the warmth.  Some countries or cities have already have been preparing by building levees, which can protect the cities when water floods.  However, it costs a lot of money, so many poor countries such as Bangladesh does not have the water defense system.    

Zero Waste Life

This module was very interesting to think about how to make zero waste life.  This module reminds me "minimal life" that has been popular as a new life style change recently.   After reading and watching the materials in this module, I tried to think what I can make my life to zero wast life. Surprisingly, there are few small things that I already have been doing since I was young child.  I would say this is partly from South Korea culture I have learned when I was young.  In particular, Korean parents always teach to their kids not to waste of foods and save materials as much as they can.  For example, my parents were mad if I didn't finish my foods and they told me to think about how much effort the farmers made for each single rice.  After I thought about them, I felt bad and tried to eat my portion of foods.  I still try not to make left over foods.  In order to finish my foods, I tend to choose small amount foods in the menu because I don't want to waste of foods.  Another example, I recycle used paper.  In particular, my printer only print out one side of paper at a time and I did not want to throw it away.  I save them and use when I study.
There are various methods I can approach for Zero Waste Life.  In the video, Lauren mentioned about buying second hand clothes.  Additionally, I can donate my old clothes instead of discarding.  I am little shame, but have too many clothes that I need extra space for store them.  I keep them because I got bored to wear.  However, I don't want to dump them because they are still fine to wear.  It would be great if other people can wear from donating.  Or I can open "flea market", which people can exchange their old products each other.  Another idea I can implement is using cloth menstrual pad instead of using tampons or pads that have been used commonly in the market.  The pads that we buy from the market are not recycled and produce large amount of waste.  On the other hands, I can recycle the cloth pads many times, which is beneficial for environment. Another benefit of cloth pads is that it is more safe for women's health.  I have very sensitive skin and get irritated from using pads I bought from market.  I am happy to change my self first and hope this small change becomes bigger in the future.

MSDS and ToxNet

I obtained the Material Safety Data Sheet from Stanford University Hospital.  The product name is Nitric Oxide.   

• What are the health risks associated with this chemical?
• It is harmful when people inhaled. It can cause respiratory tract irritation, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, chest pain and difficulty breathing.  Also, it can cause irritation in eye and skin as well. 
• Is the chemical a carcinogen?
• Yes, but it is controversy. 
• What personal protective equipment or special precautions should be taken when working with this chemical?
• For respiratory : Any supplied air respirator operated in continuous flow mode.  Any chemical cartridge respirator with a full face piece and cartridge providing protection against the substance.  
• For hand : Appropriate chemical resistant gloves. 
• For eye : Splash resistant safety goggles.  
• For skin and body : Appropriate chemical resistant clothing. 
• If this is a chemical found in your workplace, what training/education were you given about any risks associated with this chemical
• For handing, secure cylinder when using to protect from falling.  Also, use suitable hand truck to move cylinders.  
• For cleaning up, stop leak if possible without personal risk.  Avoid contact with combustible materials.  Keep unnecessary people away, isolate hazard area and deny entry.  Ventilate closed spaces before entering. 
• For extinguishing media, do not use dry chemicals, carbon dioxide or halogenated extinguishing agents.  Flood with find water spray. 
• For fire fighting, move container from fire area if it can be done without risk.  cool containers with water spray until well after fire is out.  Let the fire burn.  

I could find large amount information about the Nitric Oxide in the ToxNet database regarding to health effects, emergency treatment, pharmacology or animal toxicity studies.  Based on the research from ToxNet, Nitric Oxide affects negatively on human health in many aspects.  Although MSDS contains major information to know for employee, it would be more helpful to find the information from databases such as ToxNet.  The database contains more specific information to protect workers.